"That's right," said A's designated hitter Frank
Thomas, who singled in the second inning before leaving
Sunday's game with a racing pulse and dizziness. "We'll take it."

Joe Blanton held Boston to five hits in seven innings and Mark
Kotsay went 4-for-5 with three RBI and an outfield assist to
help Oakland beat the Red Sox 8-1.

The A's took the series from Boston and left the Red Sox with a
half-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East. Oakland, which
had lost three straight before coming to Boston to start the second
half, opened a one-game advantage in the AL West over the Texas Rangers,
who lost 4-0 to Baltimore.

On a humid, 93-degree day with little wind, Blanton (9-8) allowed just Alex
Gonzalez's solo homer in the fifth and struck out four while
walking two. The heat took Thomas out of the game; after splashing cold
water on his face, he lined a ball off the Green Monster in the second
inning, but he lumbered to first base and wasn't able to take second,
even though left fielder Manny Ramirez had trouble coming up with the
carom.

"I don't even know how I hit it," said the 38-year-old two-time MVP.
"I'm not a kid anymore. I have to be careful."

Thomas reported to A's manager Ken Macha that he was dizzy, and Macha
sent up Nick Swisher to pinch hit in the
fourth.

"I said, 'What else is going to happen,"' said Macha, who had to leave
Friday night's game when the training staff couldn't stop his nose from
bleeding.

Kyle Snyder (1-1), making his second start for Boston since being
claimed on waivers last month, cruised through four shutout innings but
couldn't make it out of the fifth. He allowed five runs -- all in the
fifth -- eight hits and a walk, striking out six in 4 2/3 innings.

"He put himself in real difficult situation to pitch out of," Boston
manager Terry Francona said. "I thought up to that point he had done a
real good job."

Jason Varitek went 2-for-4 in the game and 6-for-15 in the series after
just three hits in his previous 35 at-bats.

Although Marco Scutaro made two errors at third base, he also made a
nice stop on Kevin Youkilis. Jay Payton added a couple of nice catches
in right field.

"There weren't too many easy plays," said Blanton, who went 7-5 with a
2.65 ERA after the All-Star break last season and is on the same track
this year. "I could go around the whole diamond."

Said Red Sox centerfielder Coco Crisp: "It's one of those games where we
couldn't put the ball in the right spots. They made some nice plays, but
we hit some balls hard."

Jason Kendall had three hits for the A's. Kotsay was 10-for-18 in the
series to raise his average from .246 to .263.

It was a scoreless game until the A's sent 10 batters to the plate in
the fifth. Adam Melhuse tried to bunt but Snyder hit him instead,
loading the bases with nobody out. Scutaro walked to drive in one run,
Kotsay drove in a pair with his single, and Swisher and Payton each had
RBI singles.

After Gonzalez made it 5-1, the A's added three insurance runs on Mark
Ellis' double, Kotsay's single and Payton's sacrifice fly.

Notes

The Red Sox recalled Snyder from Triple-A Pawtucket to start the game
and sent LHP Craig Breslow to Pawtucket to make room for him.

The A's won a series at Fenway Park for the first time since August
2003.